


Aim at the Light

by Narramin



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Tense, Violence, post-STID
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-02-04
Packaged: 2018-03-08 03:33:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3193700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narramin/pseuds/Narramin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim’d been used to challenging fate on daily basis, and he decided that his near death experience wouldn’t change that. However, as the turmoil within the Starfleet after the Vengence’s crash into downtown San Francisco grew, he found himself in chain of events he wasn’t sure he could stop. And of course, who else but Khan had to be the eye of that tornado?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A trillion thanks to the lovely [Nursedarry](http://archiveofourown.org/users/NurseDarry/profile) who took pity on that poor execuse of the English langeuge I'd created, and betaed the story. ♥ Any remaining mistakes on me.

 

If anyone had told Jim that waking up after being cooked alive with radiation would be this bad, he’d have seriously considered staying dead. But since this wasn’t really an option anymore, James Tiberius Kirk slowly opened his eyes, only to be completely blinded by the blazing light.

He let out a soft groan of misery and flinched as his still way-too-sensitive skin rubbed against the white hospital sheets. The monotonous, soft beeping of the medical equipment noticeably increased, but as far as Jim’s untrained ears could tell, the sound was still within the ’you’re not dying’ range. Which was definitely a positive sign.

Jim sighed. He had no idea how had he ended up in a hospital; his mind was blank, and, if he were honest, he didn’t really care right now. He had the uncomfortable feeling that the events he’d forgotten sucked, and that he wouldn’t like the memories. At all. It hadn’t been the first time he’d had this impression during his short, yet crazy life – what Spock would carefully describe as ‘eventful’.  And that was just tying an experience to only a not-so-sober-night.

He still shivered when someone mentioned the name Chapel. Boy, she had been a crazy one.

Jim felt a headache slowly starting to bloom inside his skull. He desperately wanted to go back to sleep for a little longer. Not for too long, just five more days, or so. He gave another frustrated sigh, a bit angrily this time, because he knew that despite knowing better, he would not let that nagging feeling in the back of his head go, and how much he would wish he had later.

It was a part of being human and especially part of Jim’s nature, and while he was fully aware of it, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t trying to recall the events that had landed him in the hospital again.

He knew that his valiant efforts had been successful when a shitload of the memories hit him like an angry Gorn; Section 31, Marcus’s betrayal, the Enterprise falling to her doom, Khan, and that how it had felt dying alone in a small metal box in his own starship. 

Yeah, it was pretty much as fucked-up as Jim had expected.

He groaned again, now in misery, and cursed himself as he had so many times before at his choices. _I should have just gone back to sleep_ , he thought.

Now it was time to find out where the hell he was.  Well, obviously in a hospital, but he needed a bit more of information than that to truly feel like a Sherlock Holmes. Lacking a better option, he was just about to push the biggest red button he could find on the side of the hospital bed, hoping that would call a nurse rather that accidentally blowing shit up, but to his, and possibly the building’s luck, Dr. McCoy’s special sense of ’Jim is doing the thing’ intervened, and the doctor stepped into the room.

“Are you gonna jump out of the bed and run to find another radioactive deathtrap to bake yourself in, or can I trust you staying put for once?” Despite Bones’ tone, Jim could feel the relief from his friend’s words.

The slightly awkward almost-hug also helped to decode the message. Jim did his best not to moan in pain as his skin contacted with hospital-issue sheets and pillows and the grumpy medic, who had almost worried himself to death. 

“It’s tempting, but you know, I think I’m good.” Bones just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Barely well enough to make sassy remarks, so shut up and let me check if you’ll make it.” He began his usual dance with the tricorder and devices whose names and purposes Jim didn’t know, but had already had the displeasure to see up close a few times.  Jim couldn’t really complain, though; he was alive, and if the digital calendar on the wall was right, had only been out for a few days. Death was usually a more permanent state.

“What happened after I...?’’ He stopped for a moment to reword the question after catching his friend’s gaze.

“So how did you all manage to survive, and holy shit, I just realized, how the hell am I alive?’’ Jim was honestly dumbfounded by his own stupidity. He had known that he had been dead, then alive, but he had not managed to connect these two facts until this moment. He wanted to kick himself, but still being weak and generally miserable, he dismissed the idea. How long had it taken, six minutes? Bones’ slightly pitying expression reflected his own, but thankfully the doctor kept his remarks about the Enterprise’s captain to himself this time.

’’Remember our superman abroad?”

Jim grimaced; McCoy took that as a ‘yes’. “Well, after you went all Chernobyl and we put you into a fashionable black body bag, I found the tribble I’d previously injected with Khan’s blood purring, hungry and definitely alive.’’ Jim opened his mouth, clearly wanting to interrupt, but seeing his friend’s glare, he decided that shutting up was the better option this time.

“So we took a woman out of a cryotube, which we put you in it so your brain wouldn’t fall to an even more stupid level than the original setting. But I had used up all the gummiberry juice on the tribble, so Spock went all apeshit on Khan to capture him, in order to save your sorry ass.’’ Jim couldn’t help but notice that Bones had tried to hide his frown at the last part.

Jim wasn’t the only one with uncomfortable feelings to hide; Bones knew that he had been complaining about the Vulcan’s polite manner all the time, calling the commander a green-blooded hobgoblin, and even a refrigerator once. Now when he looked back, he had to admit that he felt bad about these remarks. Nothing was scarier than watching a normally-controlled person go absolutely feral in the space of a second, like a switch that had just been turned on.  McCoy couldn't even say that he was surprised, that he had had no idea what could hide behind Spock’s usually oh-so-composed mask. He had seen it fracture one time and that little slip of control had almost left Jim with a broken neck in the middle of the bridge. It wasn’t that he’d not deserved it at the time, but that was another story.

Jim sensed McCoy’s brooding and he decided to interrupt the good doctor.

“How’s the ship? How did Khan survive? As far as I know, the Vengeance was in a free-fall…’’ Jim didn’t ask, but Bones felt the other unasked question. Marcus. Jim had seen his head being crushed by those vise-like hands, but hey, it looked like no one had died that day who should be dead now. Bones couldn’t blame Jim questioning common sense at this point.

“Don’t worry, your lady’s fine, although she’s taken quite a lot of damage, thanks to that black ship on steroids. She’s not going to fly for a year or so, but there’s nothing irreparable.”

An almost comical amount of relief lit up Jim’s features. He hadn’t even known how worried he’d been. Bones didn’t tell him that Scotty had taken this estimate as a challenge, and if it was down to him, the Enterprise would be as good as new in six months. Bones had no idea how Scotty planned to manage that, but McCoy had a feeling that he could make that happen. And rumor had it that there was chit-chat upstairs about a five-year mission for the Enterprise. _I’ll need to find some alcohol, because Jim’s gonna be intolerable for DAYS when he finds out, that’s for damn sure._ He made a mental note to be as far away from Jim as he could run then.

“Well, about the Vengeance…” he started cautiously, “Khan’s left it all over downtown San Francisco, along with Marcus’s brain matter.’’ In the end, Bones decided not to sugarcoat it; Jim deserved the truth.

Jim paled. He felt like cold water had just been poured over him.

He had felt something dark twist inside of him when his friend had first mentioned Khan. He was still feeling this dumb, burning, ember-like rage that was pulsating inside him as he thought of him now, waiting for a breeze to turn it into an all-consuming, white-hot conflagration of hatred.

Although he wasn’t comfortable with the feeling, he still believed that is was more than justified. Not when he could still see Pike’s dead eyes as if the life had just left them a moment ago. Not when his ship has been almost destroyed. Not when countless of his crew members had died.

No, he wasn’t going to deny that; but he also considered himself a good judge of character.

The destruction Khan had caused shocked him. And although, he suspected that Khan had more than a screw loose; he had never expected him to be outright…evil?

He had seen him kill Marcus with his bare hands. He had seen the insane light in the pale eyes, and how the otherwise handsome face had turned into something repulsive and fearsome as the twisted smile had appeared on his face.

Because Jim had also seen him talking about his crew whom Khan had considered his family, and hell, Jim couldn’t help but sympathize with that. Not that he’d admit it to anyone, ever, even at gunpoint.  He felt the same little warmth inside his chest when he thought of Spock, Bones, Uhura, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, and even Cupcake. It helped to cool his anger a bit.

If he wanted to be honest with himself, Khan had given the impression of a man who had kept all his agony bottled up for far too long. If anyone, Jim knew that feeling; that was probably the reason he could place the look he’d seen in Khan’s eyes. _I was like a time bomb waiting to explode after Tarsus IV_. And that had been only a few weeks of utter terror. It hadn’t been pretty when after weeks of barely talking, his frustration had virtually burst out of him, but in the end it had helped him to process the…events. 

And Khan, too, probably had a lot of things to process. A few days ago, Jim wouldn’t have believed a single word the augment had said about Admiral Marcus, and being blackmailed into building weapons for him. All for a goddamed _war_ with the Klingons. It still sounded like a crazy conspiracy theory. Ridiculously, it wasn’t.

Jim didn’t feel like laughing.

But after Marcus had tried to murder Khan, his crew of seventy-two people, Jim, and his crew of more than a thousand, he was understandably keen to believe that there were no lengths said ex-admiral hadn’t been willing to go.

That’s why Jim couldn't place the destruction caused by Khan. Killing the man he loathed with his bare hands? Sure. Blowing up the ship that had stood between him and his beloved crew? Absolutely. Murdering hundreds of innocent men, woman, and children as a last act of insanity? Not so much. To be honest, it confused Jim. But well, facts were facts.

“Fuck,” Jim muttered. Bones only nodded. There wasn’t really anything else to say.

“I don’t know how Khan managed to survive the explosion, the fall, the jump, and then Spock, but he’s either the luckiest or the unluckiest bastard in this quadrant, that’s for sure,” he continued. Bones also tried to hide the fact that he was once again checking all the monitors recording Jim’s vitals. Jim seemed fine, but well, one could be forgiven for being overly worried. The captain decided to ignore it.

“I’m not sure that Spock would have been able to subdue him if he hadn’t sustained enough injuries to kill a normal human already, but don’t ever tell that to your hobgoblin. Khan was still out when they transferred him out, so I don’t know what condition he’s in, or if he’s awake or where he is. I have no clue how they’re keeping him, but if anyone in that red-shirted bunch has even a little common sense, he’s drugged out of his mind right now. They’re looking for the Vengeance’s black box. I guess his trial will begin when they find it.” Jim’s mind was visibly spinning as he tried to process the news. Bones decided to prevent the torrent of questions that were surly already on the tip of Jim’s tongue.

“If you’re interested, ask Spock; I’ve been too busy keeping you alive so I haven’t had time for gossip.”

“Now that you mention it, where is he?

’‘I’ve just told you that I don’t give a goddamn about where that maniac is.” Bones still felt like his blood was about to boil when Khan came to mind. That feeling alone was not so alien to him, since even he admitted that ‘he had a temper’. But this was a different sensation, one he’d never felt before. He knew that he would never forget that few quiet minutes alone in the medbay with Jim’s body.

“I meant Spock.”

“He went to make a call a few minutes ago; he’s been gracing the hospital with his goddamn presence since the day you’ve been bought in. Of course, you had to choose the only moment he wasn’t in to wake up.”

Jim grinned the first time he’d been awake.

“He’ll survive. Now I’ve got to… dammit Bones, what the hell are you doing?” shouted Jim with eyes wide in surprise as Bones practically attacked him with a hypo.

“Don’t you think I’ll let you run around for a second; you are still toast, it’s a miracle that you’re not glowing.” Jim didn’t dare make another move, seeing his friend’s menacing look. He decided to escape the hospital the minute Bones was gone, though. He couldn’t stand hospitals.

Bones, clearly satisfied with the effect his outburst and hypo had had on Jim, grabbed a chair and pulled it close to Jim’s bed.

“Finally, I’ve got the last word. There’s something to celebrate, after all.” He grinned. Jim just rolled his eyes.

“You’re definitely enjoying it. By the way, I told you not to keep that tribble.” Against his crew’s protestations, Jim had prohibited tribbles on the Enterprise due to an incident roughly a year ago. He would gladly admit that the creatures were adorable, and that they’d had a very good effect on crew morale. Hell, even Spock had owned one and it hadn’t even been Nyota’s idea. Nevertheless, when he’d found a whole family had consumed and taken residence in one of his meal trays, he’d declared the ‘tribble situation’ intolerable.

“You didn’t complain when they exposed that Klingon spy.” Okay, Jim had to admit that tribbles hated Klingons. At least they had going that for them.

“They eat that weed we were supposed to guard!”

“Correct me if I don’t remember accurately, but I seem to recall the _quadrotriticale_ was poisoned, and would have killed the whole colony if the tribbles hadn’t eaten it,” Bones replied.

“They were in my sandwich, Bones. My sandwich! What’s your medical opinion on letting fuzzy little animals wallow in your food, Bones?” Jim raised his eyebrows. Both of them. He’d be damned if he picked up his first officer’s gesture.

“If it hadn’t been for that tribble, you’d be six feet under right now.”

That thought suddenly sobered both of them up. Jim’s look softened.

“Thank you. For saving my ass.”

Bones just snorted. “Part of the job description, couldn’t avoid it. And for the record, I was worrying about your life, not your backside.”

There was a brief pause. Bones seemed very serious.

“You’re welcome, Jim. “

They sat in comfortable silence for a long time.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

When Spock opened the door, Jim’s face lit up immediately. Jim knew that for most people, his first officer remained expressionless all the time, but he saw the relief and happiness on the Vulcan’s face.  Apparently, so did doctor McCoy; after a short nod to Spock he stood up and approached the softly beeping monitors, pretending that he was checking Jim’s vitals to give some privacy to his friends.

Spock stopped at Jim’s bed, hands behind his straight back. In the first time in Jim’s life, he happened to be at loss of words.

 “I am glad to see that you are awake, Captain. Jim,” he said a little awkwardly after a few moments with one of his almost-smiles. One of his arms twitched, as if he wanted to tap Kirk’s shoulder, but then changed his mind.  Jim couldn’t blame him; his dying was a soul-baring experience for both men, and Spock was understandably a bit intimidated by it. Jim had to admit that so was he; he still remembered the overwhelming urge to touch his friend as he’d been dying, craving the contact. It felt strange to have the barriers between them again.

This was of course, far from the truth; now they both knew what lengths the other would go for them. It filled Jim with a sort of warm, grounding sensation he hadn’t known he was capable of. He was sure that Spock felt the same way.

“So am I, Spock. Thank you for saving my life,” Jim answered honestly.

“It is not necessary. However, I have been told several times by Dr. McCoy that the proper response to that human expression is ‘you are welcome’.” The captain grinned at his first officer. Nothing important had changed, after all. He heard Bones mutter something that sounded like ‘diabetes’ and ‘hobgoblin’ before he stormed out of room, leaving the two men alone.  Spock didn’t comment it, but the eyebrow raise made it unnecessary anyway. Jim was amused, too, but knew that he had to take this opportunity if he wanted to get any relevant information out of Spock.  He decided not to waste a moment.

“I’ve heard that they’re preparing for Khan’s trial.” Jim expected Spock to resist or try to avoid the subject. The Vulcan, however, gave only an almost uncharacteristic sigh and started to talk without any protestation. He probably expected that question from the moment he’d seen that his captain was awake.

“Indeed, captain.  Most of the evidence has been collected by now, including the _Enterprise_ ’s and the _Vengeance_ ’s black box. Lieutenant Uhura has volunteered to be part of the committee that will process the data; the full analysis will take approximately two weeks by my estimate.” Spock seemed to hesitate for a moment here, but continued. “However, the lieutenant has already informed me that the initial results somewhat… differ from what was expected.”

“What do you mean by ‘differ,’ Spock?” Jim frowned. He had no idea what could that mean. The case was pretty clear; Marcus had gone crazy and had woken Khan, Khan had tried to kill them and hadn’t succeeded, so apparently he’d decided to kill at least a few civilians in the end.

“We assumed that Khan deliberately caused the destruction of certain parts of San Francisco by modifying the _U.S.S. Vengeance_ ’s course from its fall. I am sure that you are already aware of that. The analysis, however, suggests that the target was neither the downtown area nor a residential area, but Starfleet Headquarters alone. I took the liberty of checking this particular part of the data myself, and in consideration of the precise calculations and his confirmation, there can be no mistake. If he had succeeded, Starfleet Headquarters would have been completely annihilated, including the levels underground, but without causing any significant damage to the surrounding civilian buildings.” It took a few moments for Jim to start to understand the meaning of these words.

“So he ‘only’ wanted to finish what he’d started at Daystrom? How’s that better –?” Then suddenly, the realization hit him and Jim gasped. “Wait, that means that his target wasn’t the civil population, but a military facility. Therefore, he can’t be accused of war crimes.” Spock nodded, and continued his speech.

“Indeed, Captain. However, that is not all.” Jim opened his mouth to say something, but Spock kept talking with an apologetic look. “The data taken from the _Enterprise_ ’s black box has clearly shown that when Khan fired at the ship after he had beamed you, Mr. Scott, and Dr. Marcus over, there was no supposedly fatal hit to our vessel. No crucial system sustained any damage that could have caused a warp core or life-support malfunction under normal circumstances. Had the warp core not already been unstable before the attack, the ship would only have been immobilized completely, due to the extensive damage in the external stabilizers and central compensator. Mr. Singh –of course – had no knowledge of the damage, and considering his precise knowledge in the vessel’s structure, it is only logical to assume that his intention was only to render the _Enterprise_ completely helpless instead of destroying it.” Seeing Jim’s disbelief, Spock added “This information has also been confirmed by the _Vengeance_ ’s torpedo log. There can be no mistake.”

“Wow.” It was all Jim could manage right now. He ignored Spock’s smart-ass eyebrow lift at his unintelligent answer. Jim had already assumed that events surrounding Khan were not as clear as they seemed at the first glance, but still, he couldn’t quite believe some parts of the story. Why would he have wanted to spare the _Enterprise_? He’d seemed to enjoy shooting it right out of the air; and Khan hadn’t given the impression of a man who wasted his time with bluffing. ‘No ship should go down without her captain,’ he’d said. Jim knew that he would not soon forget these words and the cold, pleased tone in which they’d been spoken. How could it have been possible that they had been uttered only to scare him, as far as Khan was concerned? Jim couldn’t imagine that. He didn’t want to imagine that. Khan’s attempt to destroy Starfleet Headquarters had been simple, yet brutally effective - and had cost hundreds of lives when it’d failed. 

And suddenly Jim realized that it had truly been an accident. If any of what Spock was suggesting were true, then a mind like his would not be satisfied with that level of destruction. If he’d truly decided to burn the city to the ground, he’d have ordered the _Vengeance_ to self-destruct above the San Francisco, completely erasing it from the map, and leaving nothing but a burning hole in the ground. The thought was disturbing.

Jim didn’t know what to feel – from a certain point of view, good news in what was clearly a fucked-up situation. He knew that it wasn’t that simple, though. If this was true – and Spock wouldn’t have confirmed it otherwise- that meant Khan Noonien Singh was an even more dangerous man than they’d initially thought.

What damage could man like him do if he took things seriously? Jim paled at the thought.

“Where is he?” Jim asked with all the authority he could suddenly manage. Spock, clearly wanting to protest, changed his entire posture as he recognized that now he wasn’t talking to his friend, but his captain.

“Considering the circumstances, he is now in a strictly non-Starfleet high-security medical facility.”

“What? Why?” Jim frowned. “Why isn’t he in a secure Starfleet facility? And why is it medical anyway? Bones told me that he was supposed to be Superman, and already flying around with those regeneration rates. “

Spock only raised an eyebrow at the reference, but didn’t comment it.

“Naturally, the trial will not only include Khan’s case, but also the internal investigation about Section 31 and ex-Admiral Marcus’s projects. It is more than probable that he wasn’t the only one of the higher ranking officers involved in warmongering. It is only logical that Khan is being held where unauthorized Starfleet officers cannot reach him, as he is not only a defendant, but also the key witness as well, along with Ms. Marcus.”

Jim wasn’t surprised at these assumptions at all, but, he admitted to himself, that hearing them out loud, especially from Spock’ mouth, filled him with a very uncomfortable feeling. He suspected that Marcus was not the only dirty officer in the fleet, but that raised some questions Jim wasn’t sure that he’d like the answer to.

“Wonderful. I’d guessed the ‘not Marcus is the only dirty one’-part, though” Jim began. “Do you have any idea how much a ship like the _Vengeance_ costs, Spock?” Spock opened his mouth to answer the rhetorical question and possibly to give one of his ridiculously precise ‘estimates’, but Jim carried on. “It’s a lot more than all the admirals together could afford. And it’s not just the ship itself; there are the salaries, the replicator filters, the maintenance of the space dock, the tons of paint used to cover the parts, the cleaning staff’s payment, and hell, that amount of toilet paper costs way more than any admiral could afford on his own. “

Spock nodded with a raised eyebrow. “Precisely, Captain, though there is no need to state the obvious.”

“Yeah, I know, you’re smart, Spock. “Jim rolled his eyes. “I want to talk to Khan. Can you arrange it?”

“I would not recommend talking to the prisoner, Captain, since your condition is yet –” Spock started began, but once again, Jim didn’t let him to finish.

“Thank you, Spock, your opinion is noted. Can you do it or not?” There was no better way to organize this, so despite his complex feelings on the matter, Jim just wanted to get it over with. Spock was clearly not impressed at his idea, but that didn’t surprised Jim at all – he knew he’d feel the same if their roles were reversed. And he himself was also not thrilled at the idea of meeting with Khan again so soon.

Indeed, Spock did not appear pleased, but he said nothing. “You may consider it done, Captain. However, I must warn you that Khan’s condition might be rather unstable. I was told that he still has multiple injuries from the… _Vengeance_ ’s fall.”

Jim raised an eyebrow. “Right. It was a long drop, wasn’t it, Spock?”

“It was indeed, Captain,” Spock deadpanned, showing no signs of any emotion. Jim felt a little bad for the urge to chuckle at that.

“What happened to the woman? The one who had been pulled out of cryosleep?” he asked instead.

“I have been told that she is being held in the same facility as Khan, but in an artificially-included coma. The staff hadn’t planned to re-freeze her back until the judge’s decision, but she required medical assistance, and returning her to cryosleep would have been an unnecessary risk.”

“Medical assistance? Why would she need that?” Jim frowned.

“Uncertain, Captain. The most probable explanation is that it is a side-effect of the thawing.”

Jim opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by the opening door as Dr. McCoy came back in hurriedly, just catching Spock’s last few words.

“I call bullshit to that,” Bones stated as he closed the door. He let out a relieved sight as he turned and stopped beside Spock. “Sorry, had to avoid Dr. Trvais again; he’s always coming to me with his crazy ideas. So, as I said, she was fine as I pulled her out, or at least fine on the ice cube-scale, but I noticed that she was very thin, almost malnourished, and had some already fading scars. I didn’t pay that much attention at the time, since she was otherwise stable and definitely less dead than Jim.” Bones frowned for a moment. “But now that I think about it, it’s pretty strange.”

“They are likely from injuries sustained in Eugenics Wars, Dr. McCoy,” Spock speculated. “It ended almost three hundred years ago, but for them it was minutes at most, both physically and mentally.”

Bones didn’t look convinced, but nodded. “Yeah, I hate to say this, but you’re probably right. So, was it Jim’s first or second question to demand to see one of the supermen?”

Jim opened his mouth to protest then closed it.

“That means that I’m free to go?” he asked hopefully.

“The hell you are!” Bones snorted. “Not without Spock and me, and definitely not earlier than tomorrow.” McCoy probably figured that his friend would run away the first chance he got, so if there was no avoiding it, at least he could ensure his friend wouldn’t have a heart attack through exhaustion.

Jim was actually a little bit moved by it.

“You two are the best” he said, truly grateful.

“You’re getting delusional,” Bones snorted again. “Get some sleep while you can, ‘cause your whole crew will want to talk to you the moment they know you’re awake. Come on Spock, he needs some rest. Doctor’s orders.” And he opened the door for Spock, who all-too-humanly sighed, then obediently left the room, much to Jim’s amusement. Bones followed him, and was just about to close the door behind himself when he returned to Jim’s bedside to give him a hypo in order to help him to sleep. It wasn’t necessary – Jim had already suppressed a yawn several times during his short conversation with Spock and the doctor.

“If you do attempt to escape, I swear I’ll have you restrained,” Bones warned him as he injected Jim, ignoring his friend’s objections.

“Never fear, Doctor, I’ll stay put,” Jim tried to smile reassuringly, but it ended in a huge yawn.  He followed Bones with his eyes as he let the room, finally leaving Jim alone.

He was already becoming sleepy before being given the hypospray, but he fought to stay awake; yes, he truly needed some time alone to think everything through.  Jim had a feeling that he would not get a chance for that again for a long time.

Even so, what could happen in just one day?

 

* * *

 

It was already past noon when they left the hospital; McCoy hadn’t taken any chances with letting Jim ‘walk to his death,’ shaking his head as he had checked Jim’s motor functions for what felt like the l thousandth  time. The doctor hadn’t been satisfied with the result, of course, but he’d declared that Jim had been well enough to ‘exhaust himself with stupidity,’ and that was good enough for Jim.

All he had to do was to wait for his system to catch up with…well, life. He’d had a fatal dose of radiation poisoning only a few days ago, after all; Jim knew that it was a miracle that he was still alive. He’d got over some of the more minor discomforts, like his headache. It had reached its peak after he’d woken up from his slumber, and despite the painkillers he’d had from Bones, he still felt a throbbing, albeit more mild than before, inside his skull.

And it wasn’t just the headaches. Jim still felt generally unwell, his skin almost too sensitive even to put on his usual clothes.  But those things were nothing compared to the emotions surging inside of him as he and Spock went through all the security protocols, going through more closed doors and scans that he could count. Jim had to admit that they weren’t taking any chances holding Khan. Dr. McCoy would catch up with them later, as he had to collect every one of his medical instruments and refused to go anywhere without them being properly checked at every gate.

Kirk was more nervous than he’d ever admit, but he hoped that he hid it well. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Khan, but he had a healthy amount of respect for the damage the other man could do. If he were honest, he didn’t know what he expected from this meeting. Kirk sighed. Answers maybe, or some kind of reassurance that the augment was really in the proper place?

He glanced at Spock from the corner of his eye; at first glance, the Vulcan seemed as collected as ever, his face not betraying any emotion. But Jim knew what to look for. He saw how Spock held himself: shoulders rigid and face practically a stoic mask.

They were stopped at the end of the corridor where the last door remained between themselves and Khan. The last guard checked them with a metal detector one last time.  When he made sure that everything was secure, he nodded and handed their temporary entry cards to them, and went back to his desk to finish his crossword puzzle.

Jim took a deep breath and opened the door.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Any reviews and comments are appreciated ^^


End file.
